Download
by The Little Duchess
Summary: Taking place behind the scenes of the episode 'Mousetrap'. What has Matrix been keeping from AndrAIa, and why is Bob the one to tell her? Former title, 'Hidden Tragedy'.
1. Mourning

**Obligatory Disclaimer**  
Hack is red  
Slash is blue  
I don't own ReBoot  
So please don't sue

**Concept**  
This story takes place during the beginning of _Mousetrap_, where everyone is having a fun old time, enjoying the reuinion of Matrix and Bob. It's sort of a 'behind the scenes' story, the whole of which would not affect the overall plot of the show itself. I don't know where I got the idea from, probably some fangirl wet dream or something. Enjoy, and please R&R!

* * *

Matrix paced in his quarters, his large hands trembling, and his broad shoulders sagging. He should have been positively ecstatic. He had been reunited with his childhood hero after spending what seemed like hours searching for him. AndrAIa was awake and fully-functional after what could have been her deletion. He could finally take a moment to breathe and enjoy himself. This should have been his happiest second in a very long time.

But it wasn't.

After a mighty battle with the Web Riders, AndrAIa wasting away in the _Saucy Mare_'s lower deck, Bob boarded the ship and intuitively descended to the room where AndrAIa was being held. With no more than a quick energy transfer and an icon re-format, she became opaque again and woke up.

"Oh, Bob... we found you."

The mysterious Web Rider that AndrAIa instantly recognized as their missing companion removed his protective helmet and revealed what everyone on board had secretly been hoping. Bob had returned, slightly degraded, but still entirely recognizable as Mainframe's saviour. And with that moment, the rejoicing began.

After a hardy evening's partying, everyone had become mindlessly intoxicated and proceded to make complete ASCIIs of themselves. Including, but limited to, using things that are not normally considered to be hats as hats, eating things not normally considered to be food, and sleeping on things not formatted to be slept on. There was happiness and friendship and all kinds of raucous behaviour in the air. Truly, it was a great night for everyone. Then why was Matrix so disheartened?

As happy as he should have been for finding Bob, for AndrAIa surviving her potentially lethal encounter with the Web creature, he simply couldn't bring himself to truly be happy. Because even though he had gained many new friends and been reuinted with those he had previously though lost, there was something far heavier weighing on his memory. Matrix was in mourning.


	2. Discovery

**Obligatory Disclaimer**  
Hack is red  
Slash is blue  
I don't own ReBoot  
So please don't sue

* * *

Bob and AndrAIa walked alone on the ship's outer deck in relative silence, save for some trivial banter. Both had become disinterested in the festivities, even AndrAIa, ever the level-headed one, had been swept up in the excitement and become more intoxicated than she would normally be comfortable with. Bob stopped suddenly, near the bow of the ship, breathing shallowly for a few moments.

"Bob?" she asked after a few nanoseconds of awkward silence.

"AndrAIa, I'm worried about you," Bob said finally, furrowing his brow.

"Worried? What are you talking about?" AndrAIa smiled, tilting her head in confusion.

"I know that this must be a rough time for you, AndrAia, but you're being self-destructive." He leaned against the wall and sighed. "I'm worried for your health. I can't believe Enzo isn't stepping in."

AndrAIa put a hand on Bob's shoulder. "Bob... is there something you're not telling me?"

He shook his head. "You're drinking like you... oh..." Bob looked down, regretting ever bringing this up. She didn't know and he didn't want to be the one to tell her.

"What? What's going on?" She pressed. "If you're so concerned, I think I have the right to know."

"Ummm..." he didn't know how to word this. "Had you received any upgrades recently? Something random, or pointless?"

She paused for a moment to think. "Yes, a few cycles ago."

"Was it... shortly after an... intimate moment with Enzo?" Bob hid his colour-changing complexion upon the mention of such a delicate subject.

"I don't recall, exactly, but it could have been." AndrAIa giggled softly. "We are a little on the... active side."

He sighed harder. So it was true. "AndrAIa, when I gave you my energy and re-formatted your icon, I noticed something."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah... I noticed that a new protocol being downloaded to your body had been terminated after your energy had been stolen." Bob brushed some hair back and continued looking down.

"A new protocol?" she asked. "Glitch did a full scan of me after the upgrade and we didn't notice a single change."

"Nothing? Not a single blip?" Bob searched her face.

"Ummm... no, I don't think so."

Bob looked and Glitch and asked the same question. Glitch responded with a series and beeps and boops. "I see..." he said to Glitch. "But how come Matrix didn't notice?" Again, more sounds. "I see..."

"AndrAIa, you're-were, you were... in the process of downloading a new program..." Bob struggled for words. "But the encounter with the Web creature interrupted and terminated that download."

"I... I don't understand, Bob. What program?" AndrAIa was confused and a little frightened.

He stepped forward and took her hand, meeting her eyes. "AndrAIa, you were pregnant. The Web creature caused you to lose it."

Horror, confusion, pain, all crossed her face as she squeezed her eyes shut. "That's not funny, Bob," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "How could I have been pregnant?"

"I'm not joking." Bob exhaled sharply. "Why would I lie to you?"

"No. It's not possible..." She leaned backwards against the wall and tilted her head up, trying to keep the tears from flowing. "I... I'm a game sprite, it shouldn't even be possible..."

Bob gently put an arm over her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, I thought you knew. I thought you were drinking so much to combat the pain of losing it. If you hadn't known, I would have never told you..."

AndrAIa's whimpers turned into full-bodied sobs, her body shook with each breath. "No... why..."

Bob was racked with guilt. So soon after his reunion with his friends, he breaks AndrAIa's poor little heart. It would have been so much better if she hadn't known at all. And she would tell Matrix. Who knows who Matrix might react to finding out that nearly losing the love of his life had caused him to lose his first child. The child neither of them knew they had.

AndrAIa became quiet, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Bob could tell that this was something she wanted. Needed, even. All this time spent game-hopping, all AndrAIa had thought about was having a life together with Matrix. A child.... that would be the chip on top.

But Glitch said... Glitch said that Matrix noticed the blip in the scan. Glitch said that Matrix saw it AND he knew what it meant. But that means that Matrix had known that AndrAIa had just been put into a gestation cycle. Matrix knew... and he didn't tell her. Matrix knew... she just lost it. How in the Net was he coping right now? Dealing with this knowledge all alone.

Even though her heart was broken, Bob was one of her best friends, and she was glad that he was the one to tell her. It would have been worse finding out from someone she didn't trust. Even though it was something she thought she would never be able to do. Even though now would be the absolute worst time for this happen. Even though, deep down, AndrAIa wished that she had never been told in the first place.

'But how am I going to tell Matrix...' she thought. 'How am I going to tell him this...'


	3. Recollection

**Obligatory Disclaimer**  
Hack is red  
Slash is blue  
I don't own ReBoot  
So please don't sue

**A/N** The following chapter is Matrix's reflection on how this whole situation came about.

* * *

When they'd first landed in that system, AndrAIa almost immediately received a completely random upgrade. Upon initial inspection, neither Matrix nor AndrAIa could see any noticeable change. Matrix did a full scan of AndrAIa's body and saw no new changes... wait - what was that? As Glitch scanned over her abdomen a second time, he saw it. The smallest flash of light. What could it mean...?

"Nope, no changes!" Matrix put Glitch back on his hip and brushed off his hands. "Must've been an error."

"That's odd..." said AndrAIa. "Oh well, let's go find a byte to eat!"

Later that night, as AndrAIa slept, Matrix scanned her once again. Very slowly, very gently, he removed her arm from across her midsection. He held Glitch just above her belly and watched the screen. Once again, the smallest little green light appeared on the screen.

"Glitch, diagnose," he muttered, trying his best to not wake her.

A series of unintelligible sounds followed as Glitch ran this anomaly through its systems. No more than a nanosecond later, Glitch dinged. Matrix read through the data displayed on the screen. A new protocol, it said, a download in progress...

"What..." He furrowed his eyebrows in attempt to understand. Suddenly, it became incredibly clear. His eyes widened. He glanced over at AndrAIa's sleeping face.

This beautiful Sprite, this girl who had followed him without question since they were children, this anchor to his virtual reality... was pregnant. She was pregnant. Just barely. With **his** child. Probably from their last instance of love-making in that arctic system.

Oh, so happy! Almost unfathomably impossible and it was happening to them! AndrAIa would be positively elated when he told her. The topic had come up once or twice regarding their relationship, but all logic quickly dismissed the thought; game sprites don't reproduce. Although AndrAIa had mentioned the desire to raise a child, even if wasn't her own. This had to be the best news he'd heard in minutes. Once they got back to Mainframe, they could... oh.

His face grew long. They were renegades, game-hoppers, never staying in a system longer than a few seconds. They lived the kind of lifestyle that would make raising a child impossible. It would be completely unfair to make this new Sprite lead the kind of life they did. Having been robbed of his own childhood, Matrix would never inflict this fate on someone else.

Then what? Would they find a system suitable to stay in for the rest of their hours? Just give up searching and make a new home? He couldn't imagine giving up his search for his one true home. Surely, he couldn't leave his love and his child, he couldn't simply go on without them... he would have to stay... he would never get home.

'I won't tell her until we're safe,' he vowed silently. 'Until we're as close to Mainframe as possible. Until it's possible for me to settle with her.'

Matrix sighed heavily. He brushed the hair from her face and softly kissed her forehead. "I promise we'll be happy..."

* * *

Matrix watched AndrAIa with unblinking eyes over the next few cycles. He couldn't help but notice the little dangers now; every flight of stairs, every hole in the road, every stranger he didn't like the look of, they were all threats to his lover and their little secret. He found himself carrying her whenever he felt that she'd walked too far. AndrAIa, at first finding the new displays of affection to be both adorable and sweet, quickly grew tired of his excessive protectiveness and demanded more and more independence. And the more independent she grew, the more protective Matrix found himself.

"Just stop!" AndrAIa yelled after Matrix insisted that they walk to their hotel instead of zip board, because it was 'too dangerous'. "I'm a grown Sprite, Matrix, I can think for myself!"

"But-" Matrix tried to take her hand. Oh, how he wanted to tell her now so badly...

"No 'buts'!" She pulled her hand from him. "Just let me do what I always do!"

He huffed. "Fine! Do what you want! Go get yourself deleted!" He turned on his heel and stomped away.

She crossed he arms over her chest and watched him until he was out of sight. She pulled her zip board from her hip and went back to their hotel, Frisket hot on her tail.

* * *

The doors of a nearby bar swung open and a large, angry green Sprite walked in. As if he radiated anger, every binome in the joint found themselves carefully watching him. As he strode up to the counter and sat down, the tender eyed him warily.

"I/O shot?" the tender asked.

"Make it five," Matrix said, brooding.

The tender obliged quietly and place the first drink in front of this massive green stranger. "Lady troubles?"

Matrix drank the first glass down. "How'd you guess?"

"Only a very beautiful woman could make a man such as yourself such a wreck." The tender smiled knowingly.

"Heh," Matrix grinned bitterly. "I guess my demeanor isn't exactly a rare sight in here."

"Heck, if it weren't for women, I'd have no customers!" He laughed to himself. "What did you do?"

"I'm... trying to keep her safe. It's not easy, she's always been so independent." Matrix shook his head. "Now she thinks I'm trying keep her from acting on her own, but I'm not! It's just that... I really want everything to be okay."

The tender raised his eyebrow. "If she's so independent, why are you wanting to protect her so much now? Sounds like she's more than capable."

"She's..." Matrix trailed. "She's... well, things have changed."

"What kind of 'things'?"

"I recently found out that... she's pregnant. I want so badly to keep her safe now. If something happened... I'd delete myself." Matrix put back his third drink, going down too easily now.

The tender saw this and intentionally stopped pouring, but kept talking. "Then you need to be keeping a watchful, uh..." Careful choice of words now, noticing his lack in the ocular department. "Watch on her more than ever. Keep her close, but don't smother her with attention or she'll run off." He nodded sagely. "Kinda like you just did. And for the love of the User, don't stress her out!"

Matrix realized now. Just treat her like always, keep her close. If he kept this up, she'd probably have a crash. He just needed to be with her. He just needed to treat her like his AndrAIa.

"Look, uh... thanks. That's what I needed to hear." He handed the wise binome some currency and hurried out the door, only slightly intoxicated.

* * *

"AndrAIa?" Matrix entered their dark room and looked around for her. "AndrAIa, sweetheart?"

The bathroom door was closed and Frisket was standing guard outside, so he decided that she must be in there. He sat on the bed and waited for her to come out. From within the bathroom, Matrix heard the undeniable sounds of sickness. He smiled softly to himself, she was vomiting as a symptom of the download. How... oddly beautiful. The toilet flushed twice and the door opened. AndrAIa walked out looking a bit under the weather, but incredibly radiant. He smiled proudly.

"Oh, Enzo... when did you get back?" AndrAIa shied back a little.

"Just now." He sat back and tried to look as unintimidating as possible. "I've been doing some thinking."

"Smells like drinking." She waved a hand over her nose to illustrate her point. "I/O again?"

"Heh, yeah... but not too much, I swear." He held out his hand, encouraging her to come closer. "I promise I won't yell at you again..."

AndrAIa couldn't resist when he was being so gentle. She very slowly walked towards him and took his hand. He raised her fingers to his mouth and kissed each one. She blushed deeply.

"I'm so sorry about what I said earlier, Andi..." Matrix said softly. "I love you so much, and I feel so awful for keeping things from you."

She sat down next to him and leaned into his shoulder. "Matrix, what has gotten into you lately? What aren't you telling me?"

Matrix sighed. "I just want to keep you safe. I worry about you..."

"Is that all?" She smiled.

Lying, Matrix nodded. 'Tell her. Tell her. Tell her!' his mind screamed at him.

"Oh, you silly, stupid Sprite. I'm fine! You know that I can take good care of myself!" AndrAIa laughed, music to his ears. "You don't need to worry about me, I've always been able to handle what comes my way."

Matrix smiled. 'She doesn't even know... she doesn't know how fragile she is right now.'

"Let's go to bed, lover."


	4. Confrontation

**Obligatory Disclaimer**  
Hack is red  
Slash is blue  
I don't own ReBoot  
So please don't sue

* * *

This was painful. Matrix could no longer cope with being the sole barer of this information. At first, he'd considered just sweeping it all under the rug, forgetting that it had ever happened and moving on. But the more he considered it, the more he knew that it would have to come out. He needed to tell her, she deserved to know. She deserved to know why he couldn't keep a happy face on such a grand occasion. She deserved to know why he couldn't even smile in her presence. She deserved to know; it was her baby, too.

Resolved, Matrix walked across the room and reach for the door. He froze. She would be furious. She would accuse him of keeping secrets from her even after they vowed not to, of having more secrets than this one. He was a clear head and shoulders taller than her, but the Web hath no fury like a woman scorned.

What if it was worse than anger? What if it was sadness? He couldn't bare the thought of making this angel, his reason for processing, sad. She was too beautiful to be made to cry. He loved her so much, and he would do anything possible if it meant keeping the tears from her eyes.

He considered his own feelings after she'd been bitten by the web creature, how he'd known immediately the consequences of his jealousy. The quickest reading from Glitch had told him all he needed to know... and wished that he didn't. His own sadness had been so deep, he lost all regards for his own safety.

He ran a hand through his hair in contemplation and stared at the door, perhaps hoping that it would disappear.

The knob turned. Matrix jumped back and took a deep breath, watching the door slowly open...

"Hello, Enzo."

"Bob," Matrix exhaled, relieved. He forced a smile. "What... what are you doing here?"

"I'm here... to talk." Bob closed the door behind him and crossed the room to sit on a stool. "About AndrAIa."

Matrix swallowed hard. "Is she alright? She seemed to be drinking a bit more than normal..."

"She's not drunk," Bob sighed. "She's incredibly depressed."

"What... why? She was in such good spirits earlier." Matrix eyed Bob carefully. Bob obviously wasn't buying the oblivious act.

"I told her, Enzo."

Matrix felt sick. He fumbled around for a seat, falling heavily back onto the bed.

"I told her she was pregnant... and what happened after the Web creature stole her code." Bob stood and walked to Matrix, putting his hand on the green Sprite's shoulder. "She's just crest-fallen, Enzo, you need to go talk to her."

"How-how did you find out?" Matrix struggled for coherent thought. He would have told her eventually. Probably. If it ever came up.

"When I re-formatted her icon, I saw that a download had been terminated. It was only a matter of putting two and two together." Bob faced him now, looking him dead on. "I can't believe you knew all this time and didn't tell her! That's just so selfish!"

"No!" Matrix stood, stared Bob down. "It wasn't selfish! I had to keep our best interests in mind!"

"You mean your **own** best interests!" Bob retorted.

Matrix gritted his teeth. "I took care of her, didn't I? I risk my neck, second in and second out for her, pregnant or not!"

"Some care! Look what happened as a result of her not knowing!" Bob threw his hands up. "She'd still be downloading if she knew enough to not leave the safety of the ship!"

Matrix shook with what was presumably anger. "If she knew... if she knew... we'd have to stop looking, we'd never make in back to Mainframe, ever!"

Bob stood up, his anger somehow making him seem bigger than Matrix. "Ah-ha! So you **were** only thinking of yourself! Making her play games could have interrupted or even aborted the download! She needed to see a doctor, she needed to stay still and you kept pushing her to keep traveling! You know what she thought? She thought she was sick, she thought that all of her joint pains and vomiting was because of a bug!" He took a deep breath. "All because **YOU**, Enzo, **YOU** couldn't handle the responsibility. It's. **YOUR.** **FAULT**!"

The colour drained from Matrix's face. "My... fault..." He heavily fell to the bed beneath him. "It's... all my fault... I killed it..."

Bob then realized the gravity of what he said, it was harsh, he knew. It had to be harsh in order to get through to someone as thick-skulled as Matrix. But was it too much?

Matrix stared at the floor, trying to wrap his head around the thought. "My fault..." He realized then how pig-headed he'd been. Everything bad that happened to AndrAIa since learning this fact was, in fact, **his** fault. Because he'd been too much of a coward to tell her. Because he's been thinking of his own interests instead of hers. And now.... now it was gone. And it was all his fault.

Bob watched silently as the realization dawned on Matrix, as the idea embedded itself further and further into his memory. Bob watched as Matrix pushed himself into understanding and carefully spoke. "Where is she?"


	5. Apologies

**Obligatory Disclaimer**  
Hack is red  
Slash is blue  
I don't own ReBoot  
So please don't sue

* * *

AndrAIa sat in quiet thought, periodically punctuated by a tear or small sob. She thought about Matrix, and how it should have been so obvious. His over-protectiveness, his sudden inclination to keep secrets, the soreness, the sickness... it all made sense now. It all made sense. Why didn't she take the initiative to see a med-unit? Someone who was unbiased enough to give her the cold hard truth.

And now she knew that she was not only capable of conceiving, but that she had. That she'd carried this potential spark within her for the past several cycles and didn't even know. And Matrix... did he know or was it just fatherly instinct? That would explain way he was treating her like she was so fragile and his new inclination to keeping his mouth zipped. It was possible, and Bob seemed to know something from talking to Glitch.

But if Matrix knew... why didn't he tell her? Why didn't Matrix think she deserved to know? They'd promised there would be no secrets between them.

Another tear hit the deck of the _Saucy Mare_, followed by the rhythmic pounding of Matrix's boots on the ground.

_stomp_ _stomp_ _stomp _And silence.

AndrAIa didn't need to look up to know that Matrix was standing right in front of her. She could hear him breathing. And something about this awkward silence told her that Bob hadn't just told him something new.

After a few milliseconds of agonizing silence, AndrAIa was the first to speak. "Did you know?" she whispered, almost too softly to hear.

Matrix kneeled on the ground before her. "Yeah..." He searched her face, trying to get her to lift her head. He wanted to look her in the eyes so she could understand.

A cursor to her heart. "Why didn't you tell me?" Again, she didn't look up, only barely audible.

He sighed, searching his memory for a reason that wouldn't result in more tears for her. "Andi... I wanted to tell you... I really did... but..." Matrix looked down. "But I thought we'd have to stop... that we'd never get home."

"WHAT?!" AndrAIa snapped her head up to look at him, eyes narrowed and tears still streaming. "You kept one of the most important things of my life from me because you wanted to keep game-hopping? You selfish, arrogant ASCIIhole!"

Matrix tried his best to keep a straight face. The tear stains on her face told him everything. AndrAIa was hurting more than he had been, and Bob was right, it was his fault. And it wasn't just the loss, he knew, it was the lies. Never had Matrix regretted his actions more than that second he told her that nothing had changed. He felt irony's sting; everything changed.

"You... you don't even know what I've been going through! Bob told me. Not you, **BOB**. Bob was the one who told me that I was not only **pregnant**, but that I'd just lost our child! All because you weren't enough of a man to own up to your responsibilities!" She hit him in the chest with a tiny, balled-up fist. "You said you'd always take care of me, and look what happened!"

The punch didn't hurt, but the pain from her words was unimaginable. "I was going to tell you once we got back to Mainframe... out of danger, you know? Then we could-"

"**Once** we got back?! You had no way of knowing when we'd make it back or even **if** we'd make it back! I wouldn't have found out until we I was too distended to wear my clothes!" She hung her head again, more tears welling up. "And even then, you'd probably just say I was getting fat..."

"Don't you think this is hurting me too?" Matrix yelled, exasperated. "Don't you think I tried my hardest to protect you two? All I wanted was to make life perfect for us. It was mine, too, you know!" He shook with frustration.

"Yours 'too'? More like yours alone! How can something be mine if I don't even know it exists! You're just so... so basic!" AndrAIa huffed. She was so angry now, she just wanted Matrix to leave. And her eyes successfully told him that.

No more excuses. "I'm sorry. I love you." And that was it. He stood up and began to walk towards their shared quarters. He seriously doubted she'd follow him.


	6. Silence

**Obligatory Disclaimer**  
Hack is red  
Slash is blue  
I don't own ReBoot  
So please don't sue

* * *

It was several nanoseconds before AndrAIa finally stood up and started walking. Her feet hurt, her head hurt, it was hard to maintain focus. He knees wobbled beneath her as she made her way towards her quarters.

She was still furiously depressed. She was coping with the knowledge, the loss and the lies, all at once. And she didn't even have Matrix to hold her hand and stroke her hair as she cried. But it was his fault she was even feeling this way in the first place. It was his fault she was so reckless and got bit in the first place. If he had just told her... then this would have never happened, and the download would still be processing.

Why was he so secretive about it? Why couldn't he have just **told** her? She would have been so happy... they could have been so happy together. She would have continued to follow him through the games, under strict supervision, of course. There was no reason to stop, Mainframe was the only place Matrix would ever consider home, and she wasn't about to hold him back from being with his family, even if it was growing by the millisecond. If would have been fun, even. They had been playing games for so long that they were always finding ways to make it more interesting. Imagine a big old sphere blocking her from seeing her feet, that would be hilarious.

A heavy sigh escaped her, almost smiling at the thought. She was out of tears now, quite a feat for a water Sprite, and was tired. She was going to bed and sleeping until all the hurt stopped. Maybe she could pretend it never happened, it was all a delusion from her energy loss.

As she opened the door very slowly, she remembered that Matrix would probably be inside. Matrix, who was the cause of all this hurt. AndrAIa paused. Did she really want to go to bed with the man who had been hiding such a secret for so long? It was then that she considered his feelings, too. The realization suddenly dawned on her that he must have gone through the exact same feelings that she was now. Matrix put up a tough front, but she knew how gentle he was inside. He was still just a lost little boy...

She held her breath and waited to see if the bedsheets stirred. They didn't, of course not, Matrix slept like the rest of the world didn't even exist. But there was a large mound in the middle of the bed that was distinctly Matrix-shaped.

AndrAIa smiled, just a little. As upset as she'd been with him, maybe she could somehow find a way to forgive him. It was hard to stay made at the little boy she knew still lived within Matrix. This little boy, somehwere in the corner of Matrix's subconcious was crying because of this, and because he had no one's hand to hold.

She really did want to have a baby with Matrix, but she'd rather know from the start and enjoy the affection and intimacy it would allow them. And she'd much rather not have to deal with tip-toing around an active war zone instead of joining the fight, which Matrix would **never** allow if she were with child.

It hurt now, it really did. But now the hurt was more about the deceit than the loss itself.

AndrAIa walked into the room, to the side of the bed, and slowly sat down to remove her boots.

Matrix, on the edge of sleep and conciousness, felt her weight depress the other side of the bed. She was coming to bed with him! He was so concerned that she wouldn't come at all, that she'd stay out all night and not sleep. He had the urge to roll over and pull her body close to his, but he fought it. He mustn't move too quickly, let her move at a suitable pace.

He was in pain, yes. He wanted so much to hold AndrAIa close to his body and let it all out. He'd been suffering so much, ever since the creature made off with her code. He knew the very instance he saw her floating there that it was gone, that there was no hope for his child now.

But she was so mad at him, she didn't even know how much this was affecting HIM. Matrix had risked life and limb just to make sure that everything went according to plan. He'd spent long nights watching her sleep, resting his hand on her small tummy, and waiting for the first movements. Matrix would often close his eyes and imagine what it would look like... a little girl, maybe? With his complexion and AndrAIa's eyes? He was so ready to be a father... and yet he couldn't even protect AndrAIa. How in the Net did he expect to protect their little 0.0?

Matrix hadn't felt this kind of pain since Bob had been stolen away into the Web. But no, he must stay strong now. He must be sure that AndrAIa didn't know how many tears he'd held back, how many bitter sobs he'd kept inside. It was up to him to be strong for her, and he knew it was no longer his right to grieve; it was all AndrAIa's.

They both grew aware of the dead silence in the room. AndrAIa knew Matrix was awake, and Matrix knew that AndrAIa knew. One of them would have to speak eventually. AndrAIa turned. Matrix sat up.

"Ma-"

"And-"

Another silence, this one much warmer, drifted across the room as they looked at one another through the darkness. AndrAIa looked down, trying to hide the small smile that was spreading across her cheeks. Matrix didn't hide a thing.

Matrix finally took the initiative to break the ice. "Can you ever forgive me?" he asked pleadingly.

In one slow movement, AndrAIa reached across the bed and kissed Matrix on the forehead. "No..."

And they both knew that she didn't mean it.

* * *

**A/N** Well, that's the end of my very first fanfic (ever)! I'm open to all praise and criticism that you have to offer. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the ride!


End file.
